An Elegant Style Arc Hope

I needed a dress for a Black-tie event and my preference is still classy, elegant and a touch of drama.  I wanted the fabric to do the work with a minimal silhouette. BUT I didn't want overtly sexy or anything uncomfortable and no sequins. I don't have time to deal with sequin sewing and clean up.

I went through a lot of silhouettes and possibilities and then decide to "upgrade" a pattern that I loved in my everyday life.  Also, I knew no one else would be wearing my dress.  So, I started with one of my favorite patterns, the Style Arc Hope Extension maxi dress.

It's an easy sew using complicated/fussy fabrics.

Supplies ~

2 yards of an appliqued mesh fabric purchased from Chic Fabrics in NYC

3 yards of 4ply black silk crepe from the collection via Fabric Mart (this was deep stash because it had an old Fabric Mart label on it)

2.5 yards of black rayon bemberg purchased from NY Elegant Fabrics

Less than one yard of 5/8" black elastic purchased from Cedar Grove Lane Trims in Lancaster, PA

2 yards of rayon seam binding from my trims collection

Construction ~

There was no difference in the construction sequence just added steps to account for the special fabrics.

o  Every piece except for the sleeves were cut out twice.

o  The mesh piece was basted to the front and back pieces before serge finishing the edges

o  The front skirt was cut on the fold. While the back skirt pieces were cut with a center back seam.

o  All basting was done with a single thread.

o  The hem of the dress was stitched with a single thread so no stitches would show on the dress front.

o  The lining fabric was cut 1" shorter than the main fabric and machine hemmed.

o  I added the bias binding the same way as I did for my other versions.

o  A look at the back and front of the bodice with the sleeves added.

Some photos of the finished dress

At the event...

Home afterwards in my comfy slides

My daughter and me

Conclusion ~

I know it's unusual to take a regular dress pattern and upscale it for eveningwear.  But after looking at several eveningwear patterns and online photos, I knew I wanted something that was more me.  

-  I didn't want sequins cause they're a bitch to sew and clean up.  

-  I didn't want anything tight or low cut.

-  I did want something classy and elegant with a touch of drama.

-  I did want to highlight my weight loss but not in an overbearing (to me) way.

-  I also wanted something simple to sew.  Letting the fabrics and silhouette speak.

I think my boho chic evening gown works and it elevated a pattern that I love.  I did learn that I want to make a sequin skirt (already own the fabric) and a silk blouse to wear as an eveningwear outfit, and a slimmer silhouette made from an embroidered mesh and more silk crepe I already own.  I have several nieces and nephews coming of marriage age and I want to be ready with a wardrobe I already have instead of sewing in a rush.

Parting Shot ~

How my evening ended, me in bed with a bowl of spaghetti. Why are you always hungry after one of these events?

I'm off most of Thanksgiving week and I'm not the cook, so I plan on sewing most of that week. The urge to create is strong so I'm going with it!  More fall/winter garments are coming.

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...as always more later!

A Vest

I started this vest in May 2019, y'know in the before times. It began life as a jacket. Then it sat because I had a challenge with the sleeves. I did move this unfinished project with me in 2020 and for the last five years it's been hanging in the sewing loft.

Honestly, it hung there until earlier this spring when I realized that with the weight I've lost it would fit again. By then the sleeves had gone missing and when reassessing, I thought it would make a great vest. Also, the amount of work I had already put into this piece made it hard to let go. 

It's made from a navy linen I bought from Fabric Mart's brick 'n mortar store during a Sew Camp. I added some navy/white gingham scraps to the pocket flaps and back neck facing. I also added navy gingham bias binding to the front facings.

Some of the construction was blogged about back in May 2019.  I'm not gonna send you back there, I'm just gonna share it here. 

First here is a construction picture...

I removed one breast pocket. They just weren't laying right. I did the same thing when I first made jacket so maybe these breast pockets don't play well with my body...or I'm just not skilled enough to get two pockets to lay right on a jacket...whatever! Three works.

When I picked it back up it looked like this...

I did so much work with the topstitching and lining the pocket flaps in navy gingham...

There wasn't much left to complete it. I added bias binding to the armholes to finish them.  Then I added bias binding to the hemline before hand stitching it down.  

Made buttonholes and buttons...then stitched the buttons on.  Finally gave it a good press.

Here are some photos of the finished garment...

It's a great transition piece so glad I added it to my vest collection. I have several more I want to make for fall/winter using actual vest patterns so stay tuned!

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Border Print TNT Shirt

I only own one me-made white shirt. It works for everything so there's no problem with it.  But I started to dream of white shirts that had some kind of design or print on them.  Over last year's Thanksgiving break, I pulled three fabrics from the collection to make this work.

The first one I worked on was inspired by a Coldwater Creek shirt. 

I had five yards of a double border print purchased from Fabric Mart in 2022. 

I started with the TNT version of my shirt pattern used to created my Mood Border print Shirt.  This fabric didn't need as elaborate a cut out but I didn't want a seamline on my front piece. The continuity of the print was important to me.  

I've made about 40 shirts during the last decade. I have plans to make many more.  Shirts work for my lifestyle and I can use the most amazing prints/panels/designs to create unique garments.  Since I have a TNT pattern with many different moving pieces, I can pretty much achieve any look I want.  However, that doesn't mean that I don't have at least a dozen other shirt patterns in my pattern stash.

So some photos from the cutting out process...

Here is the pleating process used on the shirt back.

I started with 1" pleats.  But using 1" pleats didn't take up enough fabric to meet the back yoke.  

Next I moved to 1.5" pleats.  Again, no go. So, I moved to 2" pleats and wallah that worked.

To secure the pleats, I basted across the top of the shirt back.  Then pressed the pleats flat.  Finally I pressed with spray starch to insure the pleats will hold. I also added a line of stitching at the edge of every pleat to help it hold it's shape.

That was the most complicated part of the shirt and took several days to complete because the frustration was real!

The rest of the construction was my normal process. Now with the weight loss it's an oversized shirt. Also, I promise to stop talking about my weight loss but right now it's like a living breathing thing that affects everything daily.

Here are a few photos of the finished garment...

(and yes this is a hair piece added to my ponytail)

Conclusion ~ 

I should have used the pattern that I based this shirt upon.  Not everything has to be remade by me! Sometimes I should stick with the experts.*LOL* Especially since I rifled through my pattern collection to donate some patterns at the Black Sewing Network Event and found the original! 

Les Lubies DeCadia Saxa Shirt

Wearability Report:

After my daughter took photos of this shirt, I wore it to work the next day. A few things, it didn't take long for the pleats to be come looser, wrinkled and lose their crispness with the wearing. It made a loose wearing shirt, even looser. To wear this shirt again, it will need some serious pressing to bring back the original crispness of the shirt.

Also I received several compliments regarding the shirt from women passing me on the street and when I went to Macy's to pick up a few things.

I won't be making this shirt again without using the pattern.  It's a one and done!

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...as always more later!

Florals and Eyelets Myosotis Dress

I bought this fabric from Marcy Tilton last year.  It was a subscriber special that was so beautiful I couldn't leave it. I hadn't seen anything like it before. So, I bought it even though I wasn't sewing much because I knew it wouldn't last. 

There are a lot of pictures in this post both for construction and finished shots. One, this dress turned out so much better than I imagined it! Two, I wanted to memorialize the construction for future me.

That eyelet embroidered floral cotton became this...

Yes, another Myosotis dress but the first one in my smaller size.  I know it's late in the year to be making a cotton eyelet dress but we still have a few more days of 80 degree days.  Also, the darker floral print makes it perfect for late summer/early fall wearing.

Supplies...

4 yards of a cotton printed eyelet from Marcy Tilton

10 clear/purple buttons from my M&J Trimmings button hauls

1 - 11/16" gold snap originally purchased from Fabric Mart via the snap stash

Baby knit interfacing via the interfacing stash originally purchased from Farmhouse Fabrics

Several yards of beige Snug Hug rayon seam binding

Decision Making ~

• Sewing eyelet fabric is always interesting because of the eyelets.  
• I used a smaller stitch length - 2.5 on my Janome to make sure I had enough stitches per inch to hold the seams together so they didn't separate. 
• Then I did sewing machine and serger thread tests to match the threads as closely as possible to the background fabric.  
• I also did a fusible interfacing vs. silk organza test to see which one I liked best for the collar, undercollar and button bands. The fusible interfacing won.
• Seam finishing was very important to me because I didn't want serged edges to show through the eyelet.  I went with an enclosed or french seams on the skirt and bodice side seams.
• For the button bands, sleeve and skirt hems I enclosed them using hug snug hem tape. I thought about using the snug hug on the finished waist band seam.  It wasn't necessary and gave up the idea because the serged waistband seam was enough. It also did not show through the dress.
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• I did serge the sleeve underarm seam because who is going to see it.  I also serged the armhole seam. I didn't think I would be comfortable with the snug hug seam binding on the armhole edges.
• I also used the button band sample below to make a couple of sample buttonholes so I could see how the fabric took to the buttonholes or if I would need to come up with another idea. 

Here is a photo of all the samples I made before I started to sew...

(from my Instagram stories)

There are no new construction techniques in this dress. However, here are a few construction photos of making the bodice:

Binding the shoulder and front facings with hug snug 

bias tape and french seams on the side

Front finished before adding the collar

Bodice finished with the collar

There are a lot of "couture" techniques to make the dress sturdy on the inside. I also hand sewed the sleeve and skirt hems. It allowed me to hide the stitches in the fabric. The clean finishing on the inside was important to me because of the fabric.

Here are a few photos of the finished dress...

One more thing to note - I'm wearing a beige colored slip from Spanx underneath the dress. That's why you can't see anything from the eyelet holes.  

Now that my sewjo is back and chomping at the bit to create, I have so many things I want to make for fall/winter. For my next project I was supposed to start another fall dress but that project probably has been pushed until next spring.

I'm also removing items from my closet.  Garments that are too big for me now but I'm loath to donate them.  What happens if I gain the weight back?  Then I'm starting all over again.  Luckily I was to lazy to donate my smaller sized garments and now I have them all to wear again.  So while I'm removing the others, they sit in limbo.

I have two more posts after this one.  A vest that I've mentioned before and a white border print shirt that I can't wait to wear. I'm working on a shirt that I've stopped and started several times for various reasons but I KNOW it's time has come.  So that's what's on my sewing table.  What's on yours?

...as always more later!